It depends on the CBA!!! I think as long as we get a good head coach and good draft I think we can be competitive next season. The only problem is if a contract is not in place early there will be no OTA's and really no time to install an O. Plus we probably going to have a new QB that needs time to develop continuity with WR. So A LOT will depend in the owners and players union coming to an agreement early. If not the teams that already have systems in place will have a definite advantage next season. I think we will always have a chance for the playoff. After all we do play in the weakest division in the NFL.

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:with this ownership, it's up in the air. Would not surprise me one bit if after firing singletary, they promote Manusky and the cycle starts all over again. Not one bit.

I have a really hard time seeing them promoting Manusky after firing Singletary. I guess I feel that way because if they were even considering him, they probably would have already fired Singletary and promoted Manusky to interim HC to see what he can do with this team.

You're right though. With this ownership, you never know. You'd hope they'd learn from their past mistakes. That's not to say Manusky couldn't be a good HC someday but I feel this team needs to go in a different direction and try something new. Not just repeat the cycle of past failures.

Possibly. I still think we're 2 OL, maybe OT, speed WR, 2 cover CBs, NT, and OLB/Rush DE away from making a run IMO...If we can get this covered with a good HC, someone that can actually gameplan and make adjustments would get us in the right spot for sure.

If we can get a HC, O-line, and beef up our swiss cheese secondary this team would make the playoffs

Add a QB. Smith Bros not getting it done.
Agree we need a coach who does not look like a mongoloid staring at a ferris wheel during gametime X's and O's or like a holy roller when there is some glimmer of good happening on the field of play.

Originally posted by BigBug415:The sad part of this whole thing is we STILL have many of the same needs/weaknesses that we've had the last couple of seasons:

1. No GM
2. No Coach
3. No QB
4. Horrible O-Line
5. No Speed on Offense (Ted Ginn is a joke)
6. No #1 Reciever
7. No Pass Rush
8. No Secondary
9. No Speed on Defense
10. Bend but don't break
11. Only 3-4 team in the league that isn't aggressive
12. Corners still give a 8 yard cushion
13. I want winners
14. Gotta watch the film

You raise good points here but let's face it Zoners, no team in the NFL these days is strong in all facets of the game. Every team, even the current Patriots, has issues and areas that they would like to improve upon. A team doesn't need to be perfect to be good. However, it does need to have......

1) A head coach that has vision, charisma, intelligence, and is organized enough to get a team ready to play week after week.

2) Solid, experienced, football minds in the front office. I like Baalke as one of the front office guys but the Niners need another more experienced football guy too. Let us not forget that even Bill Walsh also had John McVay.

3) Good OL and DL play. How many times must we stress this? NFL games are indeed won in the trenches and the Niners are losing because they are losing these battles week after week. The Tampa Bay game was a glaring example of this.

4) A creative offensive coordinator. This has been a real problem area for the Niners for many years. Mike Martz was creative but left his QBs too vulnerable to being hit. Mike McCarthy has shown himself to be a good football mind but Nolan fired him after just one year. To me, the vanilla offenses that this team has rolled out over the past few years is particularly shameful.

5) Assistant coaches that can make in-game adjustments and help put together a decent game plan which actually exploits weaknesses that the opposing team has. The Niners haven't had a coaching staff like this since Steve Mariucci's.

6) A real identity... The reason that the Niners were so successful under Walsh is that he gave the team a true identity that was maintained and even enhanced year after year. This team hasn't had a true identity for years. To his credit, Sing did try to mold the team into a "physical with an F" type of team but teams that rely on the run and defense to win games now are few and far between. Teams that win consistently now have one thing in common...

7) A franchise QB. The most successful teams now are the ones with great QB play. Until the Niners realize that, find a top notch QB, and build the team around him, they will, IMHO, continue to struggle.

To sum up....the Niners don't appear to have any of the above in place at the moment. It will take time to do that. It would also appear that the current ownership simply may not be able to put the right pieces in place.

Jed seems overwhelmed as a young "owner" in this league, partly because he doesn't have complete autonomy to run the team. In other words, he still has to go to Mommy and Daddy York to ask for money. That is a structure that is absolutely doomed to failure.

I wish I could be could be more optimistic. I grew up watching this team develop into one of the best sports franchises in history. It is painful to watch it disintegrate into this mess...

Sorry for the long post guys.....props to whoever reads it in its entirety....[/b]

Originally posted by BigBug415:The sad part of this whole thing is we STILL have many of the same needs/weaknesses that we've had the last couple of seasons:

1. No GM
2. No Coach
3. No QB
4. Horrible O-Line
5. No Speed on Offense (Ted Ginn is a joke)
6. No #1 Reciever
7. No Pass Rush
8. No Secondary
9. No Speed on Defense
10. Bend but don't break
11. Only 3-4 team in the league that isn't aggressive
12. Corners still give a 8 yard cushion
13. I want winners
14. Gotta watch the film

You raise good points here but let's face it Zoners, no team in the NFL these days is strong in all facets of the game. Every team, even the current Patriots, has issues and areas that they would like to improve upon. A team doesn't need to be perfect to be good. However, it does need to have......

1) A head coach that has vision, charisma, intelligence, and is organized enough to get a team ready to play week after week.

2) Solid, experienced, football minds in the front office. I like Baalke as one of the front office guys but the Niners need another more experienced football guy too. Let us not forget that even Bill Walsh also had John McVay.

3) Good OL and DL play. How many times must we stress this? NFL games are indeed won in the trenches and the Niners are losing because they are losing these battles week after week. The Tampa Bay game was a glaring example of this.

4) A creative offensive coordinator. This has been a real problem area for the Niners for many years. Mike Martz was creative but left his QBs too vulnerable to being hit. Mike McCarthy has shown himself to be a good football mind but Nolan fired him after just one year. To me, the vanilla offenses that this team has rolled out over the past few years is particularly shameful.

5) Assistant coaches that can make in-game adjustments and help put together a decent game plan which actually exploits weaknesses that the opposing team has. The Niners haven't had a coaching staff like this since Steve Mariucci's.

6) A real identity... The reason that the Niners were so successful under Walsh is that he gave the team a true identity that was maintained and even enhanced year after year. This team hasn't had a true identity for years. To his credit, Sing did try to mold the team into a "physical with an F" type of team but teams that rely on the run and defense to win games now are few and far between. Teams that win consistently now have one thing in common...

7) A franchise QB. The most successful teams now are the ones with great QB play. Until the Niners realize that, find a top notch QB, and build the team around him, they will, IMHO, continue to struggle.

To sum up....the Niners don't appear to have any of the above in place at the moment. It will take time to do that. It would also appear that the current ownership simply may not be able to put the right pieces in place.

Jed seems overwhelmed as a young "owner" in this league, partly because he doesn't have complete autonomy to run the team. In other words, he still has to go to Mommy and Daddy York to ask for money. That is a structure that is absolutely doomed to failure.

I wish I could be could be more optimistic. I grew up watching this team develop into one of the best sports franchises in history. It is painful to watch it disintegrate into this mess...

Sorry for the long post guys.....props to whoever reads it in its entirety....[/b]

Great Post and I totally agree!! I was a teenager when the niners won their first superbowl and watched as the niners grew into a dynasty.Total team effort from top top bottom.
I'm hoping for them to at least become competive in 2 years..So they can start to grow into a playoff team. We're so far from that..

This team is now 2 years away depending on who the Yorks hire as coach.

We need a top tier coach who can convince top tier assistants to come to the Niners and join him.

Need to go out a get a veteran QB via trade, FA or pray to that Luck falls in our laps.

Our OL is fine unfortunately called rookie growing pains. Still take our two rookies over Harris.

Gore is getting older and needs a RB that can spell him or eventually take his place.

Need a LB to replace Spikes and protect Willis

Need CB help I just don’t see us keeping Clements based on his current salary

Biggest problem we have is the Rams are going to be very good if Bradford continues to develop the way he is. Carroll has done a decent job with the Seahawks and is already thinking about who will replace Hasselbeck. The Cardinals are like us get a decent QB and they are in the fight for winning the West.

-A good competent, offensive strategy and a coaching staff that can run it

-A QB (could possibly be Troy Smith...who knows).

-Defensively, we need to to get some pass-rushers. I don't think Manusky bad in terms of scheming, but the chief reason why we can't seem to get off the field on third downs (and routinely get torched through the air) is because we have NO pass rush.

The fastest, best cover corners in the world won't help a lick if you can't get to the QB. We're a prime example of that.

Overall, I think that talent wise we're bursting at the seams. We just need a staff that can come in and put it all together.

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